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Matt Chandler – Philippians: The Worthy Life

Employment evaluation with a supervisor is no one’s favorite. It is difficult to sit down toe-to-toe with him or her and hear whether or not you have measured up to expectations. It is easier to simply assume everything is OK, focus on your personal strengths, and never have anyone point out your blind spots.

It is easier, but it is not best.

Every so often it is helpful as an employee to evaluate if you are worth what they are paying you. It is healthy and appropriate to determine: are you worth it? Are you worthy of the paycheck you are receiving? Are the actions and results you produce in your daily job, worth what you are being paid?

If we would be doing that for something as silly and temporary as a job, why wouldn’t we do that with our faith? It should be a wonderful checkup for us to evaluate our lives, examine our hearts and see if we are living a life worthy of the gospel.

Are we?

Want the whole teaching series on Philippians for your next group study? You can either it buy it on DVD or rent/buy one session at a time with our exclusive digital delivery service. Click Here to Learn More. This topic is featured in Session 2 of Philippians.

By hubadmin|January 13th, 2010|Hub Thots, Matt Chandler, Weekly Devos|3 Comments

Philippians – Odd Beginnings

Ironically, in this study on Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we ask you first to open your Bible to…not Philippians. We start out this study of Philippians in the 16th chapter of the book of Acts. Allow me to illustrate why that would be.

Though I am not as avid a world-traveler as many, I have been on numerous national and international mission trips. When I get back home, I generally tell my friends and family only a little bit about the culture, the sights, the accommodations, and the travel itself, but I spend the majority of my time talking to anyone that will listen about the people.

My photo albums are not filled with pictures of the (often breathtaking) scenery, but I have scores of pictures of the people that I met while serving there. The individuals in the area are the reason I went in the first place. They are the topics that consume my
post-trip conversations and memories which I will keep with me for life. The most important thing about the mission trip is the people. It is the people that endear the city to our heart. The same is true for Paul and the Philippians.

On Paul’s second missionary journey (recorded in Acts 16), he spends time in Philippi. It is this experience in Philippi that sets the backdrop for the letter that he would write later to the Philippians. Before we study that letter we need to meet the people that Paul met. This first session introduces us to three people that Paul met in Philippi whose stories the Scriptures have preserved for us to study for centuries. Their stories and backgrounds could not possibly be any different.

Though every church has a somewhat unique story of its beginnings, none is as unique as Philippi, the first church in the history of all of Europe. The story is far from how you and I would start the Christian movement on a continent. But then, again, God is a touch smarter than we are. The birth of the church in Philippi is truly an odd and seemingly unadvisable way to start a church, but isn’t that just like God?

Let us hear from you.

What are some amazing stories of how God started the church you attend? What are some of those people’s stories who are in your church? Perhaps you are one of those stories?

Want the whole teaching series on Philippians for your next group study?

You can either it buy it on DVD or rent/buy one session at a time with our exclusive digital delivery service. This topic is featured in Session 1 of Philippians.

By hubadmin|January 6th, 2010|Matt Chandler|1 Comment

I got to find something for our small group now!

I love to play basketball. The nice thing about being in your 40’s, I am currently 43, is that I am finally getting over the fact that I am a mediocre bball player and have given up the dream that I am actually better than I am. You could say it has taken me a bit too long, but finally, expectations have met reality.

Anyone else out there relate? If not, then you either played at a D-1 college, that means big and good school, or maybe one of you actually played on TV.

Well after playing in what we call our ASL, that stands for All Suck League, (I hope that does not offend anyone, but it’s the best description for our level of play) last night, we had an awesome discussion about church, Bible preaching, small groups, music and worship trends. It was a lively, inspiring and encouraging conversation.

Two of the guys began asking me more about The Hub and who is our market and what do we do. As I shared with them that our passion is to walk closely through the Bible and to share tools that have a long shelf life becuase they focus on the meat and potatoes of the 66 books of scripture, one of the guys said, “have you ever heard of J. Vernon Mgee?”(http://www.thruthebible.org/site/c.irLMKXPGLsF/b.4104125/k.B262/Dr_J_Vernon_McGee.htm) I said, you do know that he died more than 20 years ago, right? God is using J. Vernon perhaps more today than when he was alive. Why? Why do you think?

My opinion is that his teaching was ‘through the Bible’ and at the end of the day, if you want to know God and His love and will for your life, you must and will end up in His Word, the Bible.

These two young guys said, “Hey, this stuff would be perfect for our guys group. So often we never know what to study or what to go through for our time together. This way, we can have sweet Bible teaching from an amazing communicator, we will know that it is accurate, inspiring and challenging and we can still have our sweet discussion time with the questions from the guide.”

Exactly! The Hub exists for church and parachurch leaders, home groups and anyone who wants to engage in spiritual growing through the Bible whether in a group, or at home, in your own personal study.

And, with the digtial downloads and the ability to rent many of our resources http://www.gotothehub.com/digital-downloads/ now you and your group can access these resources for about $4 or $5 per session.

So, get your fellers together and have a Hoops & Bible night. Now that’s getting it done!

Doug

By doug|January 5th, 2010|Hub Thots, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Tommy Nelson|0 Comments

Conflict Series Part VIII: Both Parties Feel Harmed (continued)

Two weeks ago we left Solomon knocking at the door of his beloveds and where she was not letting him in. He persists in his expression of desire and longing for her:

My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned for him. I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone.
(Song 5:6)

By this point, Solomon had felt wronged from his wife’s rebuff. He didn’t break the door down or demand entrance. He reached out to her in sincerity and tenderness. The myrrh that he left on the latch was a symbol of sweetness. His attitude toward her was tender.

When he got no response, Solomon walked away. He no doubt felt rejected. He might very well have said under his breath, “Hey, I’m the king. I married you. I’ve loved you. I was working late tonight, I came to you in a loving manner, and look what I get. You have rejected me. I don’t deserve this response.”

Two persons feeling wronged—that’s the first part of any conflict. If only one person feels wronged and then thinks through the situation and concludes, “Actually I haven’t been all that wronged or hurt,” an argument or disagreement is not likely to occur. But when both spouses feel that a wrong has been done to them, conflict ensues.

At this stage of feeling wronged a conflict can be most easily resolved. We’ll discuss this more next week.

My Question For You: Was Solomon right in feeling rebuffed? Was his wife also correct in her feelings? Can both people be equally right in their feelings yet be on opposite sides of the disagreement?

My Challenge For You: When you feel rebuffed or wronged, consider the thoughts and feelings of your spouse to see how they might feel they are being wronged by you.

Miss some of this series? Find all of them here. These conflict devotionals are from the Song of Solomon DVD series by Tommy Nelson. Click here to for more details or to purchase this series.

By hubadmin|December 30th, 2009|Conflict, Song of Solomon, Tommy Nelson|1 Comment

Romance, Relationships & Religion

Guess what? These 3 words are in the top 50 of all internet topics being blogged about, searched for on Google, Youtube, podcast, and any other traditional or new communication method.

My question for you is simple. Why? Why do we have more access to information than we have ever had before and yet the core issues, Romance and Relationships, Religion, Politics and Money?

Are you content with how much money you have/make? Was your childhood with religion a positive or negative thing? Did you judge others in your home or did you feel judged? Was your home a happy place with a mom and dad who had a good, healthy, kind relationship and therefore home? Or was your home icey cold, volatile hot, or just empty?

Ever wondered why these issues get our blood boiling and minds moving? It’s quite simple. God!

He created us with the desire and capacity to share, experience and enjoy romantic relationships. He created the desire within man/woman to create, work, design, build, grow and therefore earn a way to provide for ourselves and family units. He created us in His Image and therefore to have freedom, responsibility, community, and safety.

So, it is God who has created and given us the desire and need for Romance, Relationships and Religion (I will define this as the need for a personal relationship with God, everyone’s Creator).

Am I saying it is as simple as belief in God will solve all Romance, Relationship and Religious issues? No. I am saying that trust and belief in The One who made us is the source to find fulfillment in all these areas and the source of strength and courage to work through our differences.

These issues will always been in the TOP 10 of internet, magazine, newspaper, blogs, or whatever form of communication our God given minds will create. Because, until we stop searching the internet, magazines, newspapers, blogs, or whatever form of information our God given minds develop and start searching His Written Word, The Bible and pray for His best in the areas of Romance, Relationships and Religion, there will always be turmoil in our lives and therefore our world.

God is with us – thank goodness. Happy New Year from The Hub.

By doug|December 30th, 2009|Hub Thots, Tuesday's with Doug|0 Comments

8 Ways to Thrive (not die) with Family

As we continue our series on conflict, what an opportunity many of us will have this Christmas. 🙂 Yes, we all know family is a blessing and wonderful, but quite honestly, most of us know it can be very stressful as well.

Here are a couple of reminders as we enter what should be restful, sweet, good, memory making times.

1. Take a deep breath – Is what your mother, brother, or sister-n-law said, or going to say really worth ruining the sweet time you have? I know that words are extremely powerful, but for many of us, we need to learn how to ‘give them less power.’

2. Watch your tongue – As you have heard and will hear many times, An OUNCE of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If most of us would just take a deep breath, relaxe ONE moment before we speak, we would either say less damaging things or when someone says something Potentially damaging to us, we choose not to react.

3. Stop thinking of the past all the time. This is huge in family. Whenever someone in our family makes a comment to us, we see it in light of the previous 20, 35, or 50 years. It’s time to forget some of that (I know it’s hard, but it’s necessary). A short memory can be quite helpful in these situations.

4. If your comment does not build someone up, then keep it to yourself. Many times in family, we think it is our job to ‘share all the difficult stuff.’ You know what, unless you have an active, ongoing, close relationship with a family member, chances are ‘more critique’, or ‘less positive’ opinions should be shared by a person’s friend, not a family member.

5. Unsolicited advise is almost always received as criticism, not help.

6. We only have a few days together. Let’s be friends:) Friendships are positive. Let’s let our family times be positive.

7. Christmas is about Christ’s generosity of Spirit, not a spirit of negative, stress, hurt, history. If we will slow down enough to get the right perspective on our eyeballs, then He will gives us what we need to make it much more enjoyable.

8. Don’t stay too long! Proverbs says,’Don’t stay too long in your brother’s house.’ That’s from the wisest man who ever lived. Amen.

Remember this week, God is with you.

Merry Christmas from all of us here at The Hub!

By doug|December 22nd, 2009|Conflict, Hub Thots|2 Comments

Both Parties Feel Harmed: Conflict Series Part VII

Conflict occurs when both parties feel in some way wronged, denied, misunderstood, or unappreciated. We find a perfect example in the conflict between Solomon and his bride:

I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.”
(Song 5:2)

She speaks back in Song 5:3:
I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet; How can I defile them?

Solomon had been working late. After a long day in a hard world, he longed to come home to some tenderness and appreciation. She, on the other hand, had pretty much given up on his coming home at a reasonable hour and had gone to bed.

Keep in mind that in those days, a man and a woman often had different bedchambers so he was knocking on her door in hopes of joining her. Her response, in modern-day terms, might be, “I have a headache.” She says poetically, “Not tonight, I’ve already taken a bath and am in bed. Yet you want to have sex now?” They’re thoughts and desires are definitely not on the same page and they are set up for conflict.

We’ll see both of their reactions to this situation next week.

My Question For You: Are there any situations you face that you know will lead to conflict?

My Challenge For You: Conflict is inevitable. Are you willing to prepare for it and set yourself up to learn from it?

By hubadmin|December 17th, 2009|Conflict, Hub Thots|0 Comments

God is with Matt Chandler

Friends, we have been praying for Matt Chandler, friend of The Hub and Pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, TX. The pathology report is back and the tumor was malignant and they were not able to remove it all. For a full report from The Village, go here.

This is very difficult. For Matt, Lauren, their kids, family and for The Village. Not in my life have I seen God raise up so much love for a preacher in such a short time than I have with Matt.

It is a must that we bend our knees, hearts and minds and look only at Jesus. This does not and will not make sense to our human mind. We are not able to comprehend this kind of pain and suffering.

Do we bend our knees, hearts and mind with hope? Absolutely! As Paul says in Romans, we do not grieve as those without hope.

Matt, family, and The Village, those of us who have been blessed by God using you and His gifts He gave you to teach, we commit to pray for you all.

We will pray for physical healing. We will pray for Christ to be made known around the world so that many others will experience spiritual and eternal healing through this struggle.

It is not our way, but God’s ways are trustworthy, for He is the only true Trustworthy one.

God is with you, and us.

By doug|December 16th, 2009|Hub Thots, Matt Chandler, Tuesday's with Doug|2 Comments

Pastor Jamie Hart Says Thanks

Here at The Hub we love to give gifts and we love to get feedback. Pastor Jamie Hart took a moment to say thanks before recording some thoughts on the Flip Mino Mini Video Camera that he won during our Flipping for Philippians promotion. We really enjoyed that promotion and we are happy to see that Jamie is enjoying his prize.

Watch his video below:

If you have won and want to share your video, please send them to eddie@gotothehub.com

Merry Christmas!

By hubadmin|December 16th, 2009|Hub Thots, Matt Chandler|2 Comments

Who's on First?

In response to Caryn’s question: Caryn and her husband just had their first child and are now struggling with connecting physically, emotionally and spiritually. Her final comment/question is: Is it possible to still be madly in love with your spouse and enjoy being parents?

Caryn, YES! Guess what’s next…WORK.

First things first. I think you need to slow down a bit, step back and let some things simmer down. I have not given birth (surprise) but my wife Carrie has three times. It is wonderful and can be very stressful. Hormones, no sleep, new things, things you don’t know how to work, no sleep, new financial opportunities:), who is going to wake up at 2:45 a.m., no sleep, hormones. A lot of Change!

There is also a ton of sweet sounds, holding a baby on your chest and taking a nap, watching them sleep, letting their little finger wrap around yours, watching their eyes open, emotionally and spiritually connecting with them, taking a nap with your baby on your chest (I know I already said that, but since I said no sleep a lot in the other paragraph, need to say how sweet those naps are). A lot of Goodness.

Caryn, and others, during this time of wonderful, but massive change, we need not to become anxious, paranoid, or rush to judgments about one another. Certainly you and your husband are realizing that if you thought marriage took sacrifice, having a baby is like the ultimate mirror to reflect our selfishness.

“I am tired and I have to get sleep or I can’t do my job at work well.” “Well, I just gave birth to your son (daughter) and I have not slept for days and have this precious little one on my side 24/7 and I need help.” Was it Mark Twain (not sure) that said, ‘this is why God gives children to the young.'”

I would suggest you and your husband find a few quiet minutes and share your honest, heartfelt feelings. Share with him your concern over your body and its changes. Share with him your sense of missing him, your tiredness and energy. Share with him the sense of loss of losing your best friend and the separation you are feeling. Share with him your desire for him and to not lose that intimacy and your willingness to fight for him.

For the husbands out there, intimacy will return. But, this is why it is called intimacy in marriage and not sex, because it requires courage, honesty, sacrifice, commitment. Then, when you each get a bit of rest, you have unselfishly helped each with the responsibilities in the home, and then you come together in intimacy, now you have something worth fighting for! Now that is two souls coming together, and not two bodies.

Caryn, pray for the conversation, offer the results to God (your husband may not respond perfectly to the first conversation) but be kind and wise about your timing, but be direct and courageous.

This is one of the forks in the road where as things get more complicated in marriage, we must fight diligently to “keep falling in love” with the best friend that we chose and God lead us to.

God is with you, be strong!

By doug|December 15th, 2009|Hub Thots, Tuesday's with Doug|0 Comments

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